DES MOINES, Iowa — After her parents were killed in a crash over the weekend on the east side of Des Moines, Lyndsay Lehman is leaning on her faith and her family.
"What I wouldn't give for one more moment. Thank you for how you lived your life," Lyndsay quietly prayed to herself a few days after losing her parents.
A prayer like this comes from a faith deeply instilled within by her parents: Fred and Mary Lehman. Lyndsay said her parents were loved by everyone they met.
"The love that they had for them was because of who lived within them and that was Jesus," she said. "To know them is to love them and to be loved by them."
That's why the thought of that love no longer surrounding her family is devastating.
"It's horrible. It's something I never imagined I would have to do and especially in the way that they passed. Those are things that are very hard to process," Lyndsay said.
On Sunday night, Des Moines police said an 18-year-old driver was speeding and hit Fred and Mary's car. Lyndsay said her parents had just left church and were heading home. The crash happened at East University Avenue and East 27th Street near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Lyndsay's parents died in the crash.
"When we spoke to the officers at the scene that night, you're hearing it but everything feels like a dream. I knew I was awake. I knew I was sober and clearheaded but I immediately felt like I was needing to wake up," she said.
Lyndsay, who lives about half a mile from the crash scene, said she even drove by the crash a few times that night before DMPD told her the two who died were Fred and Mary.
Days later, flowers sit on the side of East University Avenue and a note gently lays on top to let the world know Fred and Mary were loved. They were an embodiment of it.
As eastsiders, they loved Dairy Zone and the Iowa State Fair.
"We parked about 50 cars around the perimeter of the yard. He would tell everybody on the lot 'I love you'. He would pray with them," Lyndsay reminisced about Fred, who loved accommodating fairgoers parking at her home right next to the fairgrounds.
The love Fred and Mary have for each other bound them together for 57 years as husband and wife.
"My mom has a sign on her door that reads 'All because two people fell in love,'" said Lyndsay.
Their demonstrative, loud love extends to generations of their family, including their four children, 11 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. In a video from Christmas 2022, that genuine love for their family was captured as Fred and Mary found out their grandson Tyler, deployed in South Korea with the Air Force, was having a baby with his new wife.
The love Fred and Mary have, sometimes, is greater than most people can understand.
"I don't know the young man that was involved in the car crash but I know a few things. First of all, I know my parents would have loved him," Lyndsay told Local 5. "I know that we have talked about forgiveness from our parents and our family, but I wanted to explain a little about forgiveness. Forgiveness is something we don't feel. Forgiveness is not an emotion, like love. Forgiveness and love are choices that we make. They are things we decide to do. They are an act of will. We do it on behalf of ourselves to start our own healing. Forgiveness is not something that takes the place of consequence ... and we forgive because we are called to forgive and because we are forgiven ourselves."
Fred and Mary are gone but their legacy of love lives.
"When you experience true and genuine love, it's something you never forget and I think that's what people are remembering. It's the moments, even if they were small, but because it was mom and dad, they will never forget it," said Lyndsay.
She remembers her dad, the man who pastored most of his life, worked with the church in various capacities and also was a missionary in the Philippines. He was someone who knew no stranger.
Lyndsay said she'll always hold on to his famous saying when others tell him to have a nice day: "You are a part of my good day."
He was most recently working with the homeless through Hope Ministries before retiring.
Her mother, Mary, was a supportive pastor's wife during the years Fred pastored. Mary led women's conferences and retreats as well. She then worked for the Iowa Bar Association before retiring a few years ago.
Lyndsay said she had a heart for people and took care of others, even in her own home. But, she wasn't just known for her kindness, but also her voice. In her lifetime, she loved to sing and even wrote a few of her own songs.
Lyndsay said her parents had an incredible sense of humor. They loved to laugh and were always playful.
"To be loved by them was to have been loved by God himself. That is what we hope to carry forward."
Fred was 76 years old and Mary was 79 years old.